A topic that comes up with my clients time and time again is self-promotion. Both men and women struggle with it. They see it as bragging, so they hesitate to do it. If this sounds like you, then you need to shift your mindset when it comes to self-promotion. To set yourself apart and get noticed you need to do things that are different. You are doing great things and have good ideas, but no one will ever know that if you don’t start telling them!
What if you think of self-promotion as just sharing a story with someone? Think of how much the information will help someone if you share it? Self-Promotion isn’t bragging. It is you taking the opportunity to share what you or your team are doing with others. Does that change how you think about self-promotion? This is something that so many people struggle with, but what if you can do it in a way that is more authentic to you? Here is a simple self-promotion approach for you to try:
Telling the Story:
- Preparation:
- Come up with a story that helps to show your work
- If you share information in a story, it feels more like you are talking to a friend vs putting together a formal presentation about what you are doing.
- It doesn’t have to be any longer than a couple of minutes, but doing this consistently is how you can start sharing your accomplishments for someone else to hear.
- Have some stories that are ready to go so no matter who you run into, you will be ready
- Opportunity
- Look for opportunities to share with someone at lunch, in the hallway, in a meeting, in a one on one or in the elevator.
- Don’t let the opportunity pass by with only a little small talk. Those aren’t the people who get noticed.
- Story:
- You are walking down the hall and you run into you manager. You say good morning and then say “Do you remember when I shared with you that my team and I were piloting the customized solutions approach? I wanted to let you know that we got a call from our customer this morning. They were really happy with the new solutions that we customized for them and they are ready to place more orders with us by the end of the year. The risks we took on this pilot are really paying off for us! We can now begin expanding this to more customers.”
- Enjoy the Result:
- Your manager knows that you took the lead on trying something new
- You piloted a new idea and took a risk
- Your idea paid off with great customer feedback
- More customers can start leveraging this new solution as well
- The company will be getting more revenue because of what you and your team did
- You and your team are getting visibility for your accomplishments
Self-promotion can be as simple as this example. You are doing the same work, but you are sharing the information with others in a way that helps them to see you and your team differently. Remember to strike a POSE when it comes to self-promotion: Preparation, Opportunity, Story and Enjoy the Result!
For the next few days, we will be focusing on self-promotion, going through some examples and sharing resources on this topic.
Here is another blog on self-promotion that may also be helpful:
How Can I Build Confidence to Do More Self-Promotion?
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